TransCom: A virtual disk based self-management system

Abstract

With the rapid advances in hardware and networks, the current computing systems, including desktop or embedded system for end users and routers for professional operators, is becoming more and more complex and unmanageable. Autonomic computing [6] proposed by IBM is to design computing systems that can manage themselves to reduce managing complexity of the global systems. This paper introduces Trans-Com, a novel system to eliminate most of machine individual management. It decouples software and data from the underlying hardware by virtualizing and streaming the storage, centralizing software and data at servers while leveraging local machines' CPU and memory resources to accomplish computing tasks. We have implemented such a pilot system that can support Windows and Linux desktop platforms. In this paper, we focus on the scheme that is used to centralize the software and data. We also presented our early experience in e-learning classrooms to demonstrate that its feasibility, efficiency and usable. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.